Jean Chouan

"Jean Chouan" was a mammoth serial in 8 episodes depicting an impossible love between a royalist Chouan and the daughter of a revolutionary, member of the committee of public safety ;a sweeping historical epic, well directed.

The Chouans were a royalist counter-revolutionary movement in the Vendée and in Brittany .

The 11th of July 1792 was the day the deputies declared the homeland "in danger" and the French join the army en masse.During the session, Danton appears and has his famous sentence about "daring" .

Marie-Claire, congressman Ardouin 's daughter ,is in love with Jacques ,Jean Chouan's son ,one of the leaders of the counter-revolutionary rebels :around them a lot of colorful characters :the Lefranc family ,the father joins the army as a soldier, his wife as a vivandière and his son as a drummer boy!Jean Chouan ,an adamant leader whose icons are God and his king ,and an aristocrat ,the marchioness of Thérigné.....The most interesting one is the countess of Carquefous,despised by her pairs (scene in the dungeon)because she was born a plebeian .Her desire for revenge makes her swell the ranks of the revolutionaries where she's nicknamed "the archangel of revolution" : becoming Ardouin 's mistress ,she's now a person of influence .

Apart from Danton,another historic person, general Marceau ,plays a prominent part in this far-fetched story :although he's fighting for the revolution,he shows himself a loyal human generous character,which he was ,according to historians (he would die in 1796).One should note that the movie is almost devoid of the usual cliché : the villains/blood-thirsty revolutionaries and the virtuous aristocrats victims of the fury .

"The perils of Pauline " in the revolutionary years :it's a long way to happiness for Romeo/Jacques and Juliette/Marie-Claire in a dissension which tears Brittany apart .

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"Les Chouans" Henri Calef ,1946

"Chouans" Philippe De Broca ,1988

"Les Révoltés de Lomanach,Richard Pottier,1953

Like Marceau (1769-1796) ,Jean Chouan (1757-1794) did exist ,even though his name has not really gone down in history ;he played a prominent part in the counter revolution ,with his three brothers , Pierre ,François and René ,but his son (Jacques in the film) is nowhere to be found.He supported the émigrés , saved the priests and the revolutionaries put a price on his head;the circumstances of his death are mysterious ;he may have been shot down while protecting his sister-in-law (who might or might not be have been pregnant)

The series (eight episodes lating about 50 min) has little to do with history ;but it 's got a well-constructed action-packed screenplay.In the second part, Marie-Claire ,daughter of the member of "the Comité De Salut Public" ,who acts as the governor of the Vendée region, is kidnapped by the Chouans and her father is facing a dilemma: either he frees the prisoners -soon to be guillotined- or his daughter will die ;but Jacques , Jean Chouan's son is in love with their hostage.

Marceau,who loves her too ,plays an important part in the story;he was really arrested but not courtmartialed ;as far as he is concerned the ending of the serial makes sense : he was to continue the war beyond the borders .And his enemy's son would join him.

The bravura passage is the scene when Marie-Claire and the marchioness,who helped her to escape from the Chouans ' clutches,cross the "Gois",the ford which leads from the mainland to the Noirmoutiers island when the tide is rising ;this part is strongly influenced by Feuillade's serials,with its secret passage and its "turning stone" .The old peasant woman's words who keeps on repeating "Not' Bonne marquise" ,ring true .

The director uses short flashbacks which smartly replace lines (for instance when the Chouan tells his master about the flight to get to the island.

The female characters epitomize duty: you must be true to yourself ,to your ideal,even when they talk to an enemy ;Marceau is their male counterpart : "Jean Chouan and Ardouin detest one another ,but there's no contempt between them"